Battle of Churubusco

The Battle of Churubusco (20 August 1847) was a major battle of the Mexican-American War that occurred when Winfield Scott's 8,497-strong American army pursued and defeated Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna's battered Mexican army of 3,800 troops as it withdrew from the Battle of Contreras earlier that same day. Colonel John Garland's battalion took San Antonio, capturing a Mexican general and four guns, and Nicolas Bravo's battalions and the Irish Saint Patrick's Battalion defended the convent of Churubusco from the American assaults. The Mexicans and Irish volunteers fought until their cannons melted or were destroyed, and the Saint Patrick's Battalion fought hard, knowing that many of its members would be executed for desertion from the US Army if captured. The Mexicans were forced to surrender, leaving the US Army within five miles of Mexico City.